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What Can A Parent Do To Prepare For Sole Custody?

Obviously the person should not only act normally and not do anything different, but they need not to be aggressive. They need to be able to take care of their kids and show the court, the custody evaluator and the social worker that they care about the kids more than they care about themselves. This includes addressing their needs, taking care of them, making sure they do their homework, making sure they do their chores, cleaning their rooms, making their beds, giving them responsibilities, making them grow depending on their age and giving them age-appropriate responsibilities. It is what would be required from a parent who would be caring about the kids, loving them and giving them the education, support and help they need to grow up to be responsible parents themselves one day.

If a parent wants to have sole custody or a good joint custody relationship, they should not swear or talk badly about the other parent to the kids and if anything, they should just be supporting the kids and keeping the kids out of the fight. They need to just love the kids and support them in the best way they can.

What Sort Of Experts Will Be Utilized For A Custody Case That Becomes A Battle?

In a battle, not only would a child custody evaluator be present, but they would basically want to get any type of fact witness, which would be the most important thing. They would want testimonies from neighbors, parents and friends of the children. There were family members, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors and grandparents in a recent case that went to trial, so the parents of the mother and father were all called as witnesses to talk about whether or not somebody was violent, and whether or not somebody had a drug problem because all of those things come into play. As far as experts go, the court system in Utah is designed to only use one custody evaluator so they are neutral which basically splits the cost of that expert between the parties. The only other time, as far as custody is concerned, that an expert witness would be involved is if the child was undergoing some type of therapy where a therapist would be called in, but most of the time, those people do not testify although their reports can be admitted if the therapist can be persuaded to provide them.

Who Makes These Determinations And Does A Judge Have The Final Say On The Custody?

The commissioner will actually make the recommendations on temporary orders and those initial orders can be reviewed by the judge. A person who disagrees with this recommendation will have a timeframe in which to file an objection and set up an evidentiary hearing before a judge; if the person does not do that, they will have waived their right and the commissioner’s orders will stay.

What Are Some Things Social Workers May Want To Know And What May They Ask?

Usually the social worker will ask all types of questions about each parent’s background, their upbringing, where they had worked over the last few years and their education. They will want to know if there was any criminal history.

The interviews will be very in-depth and will last for an hour to two hours. They will want to know if the person had any bad experiences with their father or mother when they were a child. They will ask about the person’s upbringing and ask if the person found their parents to be strict. The social workers will also evaluate by sitting and watching the parents interacting with the children. They will want to see whether the parent is putting on a show or whether they have actually genuinely been a good parent. Depending on the ages, they might even interview the children separately without the parents present to get the children’s view of their parents and how they interact. Parents being aggressive or unkind to the other parent also plays a role in the custody evaluator’s determination as far as custody goes.

In What Ways Would It Get More Expensive?

Temporary orders are very quick and take about six to eight weeks from when the case is started. There is no evidentiary hearing and no evidence presented to the judge so it is simply attorneys going in and making arguments. It can get very expensive because it can take another year to two years for depositions, discovery, witnesses, preparing exhibits and going to trial, which is why people want to move on with their lives and do not want to deal with it. Over the years there have been a lot of people who just gave up.

For more information on Getting Sole Custody of Children, a free initial consultation is your best next step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling [number type=”1″] today.